ALAMINOS CITY—Sorsogon Rep. Francis Escudero, a member of the senatorial ticket under the United Opposition, played ninong (godfather) to 160 couples who tied the knot on Valentine’s Day in a mass civil wedding ceremony in Lucap, the jump off point to the Hundred Islands.

Mayor Hernani Braganza, who invited Escudero, officiated the 3rd civil mass wedding in the city since he took over the helm in 2004, attended by hundreds of relatives of the couples, and their guests.

Braganza and Escudero were old buddies in the 10th and 11th Congress, being both ‘Spice Boys’, whose legacy to the nation was their solicitation of their colleagues’ signatures that led to the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada.

The other ‘Spice Boys’ who did not make it to the civil mass wedding as ninongs too were former Presidential Chief of Staff Mike Defensor and Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, also senatorial candidates with the Team Unity of the administration.

Braganza said the civil mass wedding under the program “Hundred Kisses for the Hundred Islands” is a yearly Valentine Day tradition in his city with 70 couples on the first year and another 120 couples the following year.

Both previous civil mass weddings were held at Bolo Beach, which is being developed by the Alaminos city government as a mini-Boracay because of its fine white sand.

Others who played ninong to the couples aside from Braganza and Escudero were Vice Governor Oscar Lambino, retired Lt. General Alberto Braganza, former Alaminos City Mayor Leon Rivera, the 12 members of the city council and 39 barangay captains.–LM

WEDDING IN ROSALES

Meanwhile, some 41 couples joined a mass civil wedding officiated by Mayor Ricardo Revita at the Rizal Park in Rosales town on Valentine’s Day.

Revita said the mass wedding is an annual activity of the town to enable all couples who have long been living together without benefit of legal marriage to formalize their union.

While the mass civil wedding was being officiated by Mayor Revita, there were couples who participated in another mass wedding on the same day at the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Anthony de Padua.

In the mass civil wedding, the couples did not have to pay a single centavo and the municipal government took care of inviting their sponsors and did not charge solemnization fee.

Wedding cakes and bottles of wine were provided by their sponsors, among them Mayor Revita and other municipal officials.

The mass wedding was coordinated by the Municipal Tourism Office led by Meriam Soriano. –MRV 

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